


Headcanon: Oliver Queen as Aromantic (Spectrum?)

by luvtheheaven



Series: Metas I've Written (Various Fandoms) [11]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Aro Spectrum, Aromantic, Aromantic Character, Aromanticism, Demiromantic, F/M, Gen, Headcanon, Meta, Meta Essay, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 21:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10705410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvtheheaven/pseuds/luvtheheaven
Summary: Pre-Island Oliver acts like the exact type of aromantic heterosexual young man that society is extremely prejudiced against, and his “fear of commitment” where he doesn’t want to move in with Laurel at age 24 and potentially is self-sabotaging his relationship when he invites Sara to join him on the trip is fun for me to interpret as not “immaturity” or not that he just “hadn’t met the right woman”, I prefer to think that he just isn’t alloromantic and he loved Laurel, and he later loved Felicity, and maybe a few other women in his life too, but while they loved him with full romantic love and he felt that love from them and was grateful for it, he was also overwhelmed by it and for him, really he loved them the same way he loves close friends or family members. I see him as going through the motions of romantic actions, both before and after his trauma...





	Headcanon: Oliver Queen as Aromantic (Spectrum?)

**Author's Note:**

> I just posted this as a comment reply on my own WordPress blog… https://luvtheheaven.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/tumblr-aro-asks-meme-my-answers-part-4-of-4/comment-page-1/#comment-886
> 
> And I figured it would be fun to share it a bit wider on tumblr too. http://luvtheheaven.tumblr.com/post/159752574632/headcanon-oliver-queen-as-aromantic-spectrum
> 
> I'm finally posting it on AO3 because I remembered, I do this from time to time, post meta to AO3, and it's even... fun and worth it and gets traffic... lol
> 
> I’m a pretty casual Arrow fan and this is just a headcanon about the version of Oliver Queen that we see in the TV series Arrow, not from comics or anywhere else, so take it or leave it…

Oliver might be aromantic due to trauma, which is valid and all... and would still mean he really is aro. The thing is... to me, Oliver also doesn’t act particularly like he had to have been alloromantic prior to the Gambit sinking and all of his trauma? Pre-Island Oliver acts like the exact type of aromantic heterosexual young man that society is extremely prejudiced against, and his “fear of commitment” where he doesn’t want to move in with Laurel at age 24 and potentially is self-sabotaging his relationship when he invites Sara to join him on the trip is fun for me to interpret as not “immaturity” or not that he just “hadn’t met the right woman”, I prefer to think that he just isn’t alloromantic and he loved Laurel, and he later loved Felicity, and maybe a few other women in his life too, but while they loved him with full romantic love and he felt that love from them and was grateful for it, he was also overwhelmed by it and for him, really he loved them the same way he loves close friends or family members. I see him as going through the motions of romantic actions, both before and after his trauma, I see him as matching a lot of what aromantic people describe feeling before they realized being aromantic was an identity they could claim? Idk. I know other people who consider him demiromantic especially in regards to how his feelings developed for Felicity or other aro spectrum identities, and I definitely consider Oliver/Sara as a sexual relationship in season 2 and deep platonic bond, they’ve got some level of care for each other and comfort around each other… but when they’re together there (s2) it’s really not a romantic relationship in my eyes… etc etc.

I don’t think it’s the only interpretation for Oliver Queen possible but I personally do think he experiences crushes or other romantic feelings to a lesser degree, if at all, than alloromantic people do. Compare to Diggle's feelings for Carly or Lyla, compare to Tommy’s conviction in his feelings for Laurel, and I feel Oliver just doesn’t feel things the same way? Now with Roy’s feelings for Thea that comparison might break down, and how differently Roy feels romantic stuff compared to how Oliver feels it, I’d have to rewatch the show and as it is right now in my mind, idk if there’s much obvious difference or not.

Still, while there can be a huge spectrum in the manifestation of romantic feelings among alloromantic people and characters, I like thinking that Oliver can be a fully happy, realized person who would be more comfortable in his own skin and understand his feelings better if he knew about aromanticism and identified somewhere there. I like thinking he would be better able to decide if he wanted a traditional romantic relationship in his life at all, and if he did how to be ok with having a different category of feelings for his partner than they would for him.

I have a lot of Oliver feelings… :P And lately have been thinking I am inspired to make a fanvideo tribute character study, perhaps.


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